Did Trump Make His Case on Iran? 4 Takes on That

President Trump made his case for the Iran war in a 20-minute address to the nation Wednesday night. Here's a look at some assessments:

• Well done: The conservative editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, no stranger to Trump criticism, thought the president "delivered an effective speech, with a persuasive message that should win him enough time to keep up his campaign to achieve all of his war aims." In particular, it should end speculation that Trump is desperate to find an exit ramp, the editors write. "The most important message we heard is that he's not ending the war until the job is done, and Iran's leaders would be wise to act accordingly."
• Polar opposite: New York Times conservative columnist Bret Stephens begs to differ with the Journal. "Boy, that was a childish speech," he says in a conversation with fellow columnist Frank Bruni. "Undisciplined, unstructured, uninformative, unimpressive, uninspiring, unpresidential. I learned nothing from it that I hadn't known before it started, except that Trump somehow thinks that the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened by something akin to magic. It was also a signal to what remains of the Iranian regime that they just need to hold on for another two or three weeks and it will be over. A reminder that, even if this is the right war, we've got the wrong president."

• Another critic: In the Atlantic, Tom Nichols suggests Trump should have skipped the speech. "His address did not come across as a wartime speech but instead was a disjointed series of complaints, brags, and exaggerations (along with a few outright lies) delivered by a man who looked and sounded tired," writes Nichols. He agrees with Stephens' take that Trump said little new. The only bright spot in Nichols' view is that Trump didn't reiterate his threat to leave NATO.
• Well done, II: But another editorial of praise comes from the New York Post (which, like the Journal, is owned by Rupert Murdoch). Trump ticked off the US military's "massive accomplishments" so far and drew a smart contrast with US wars that dragged on for years, the editors write. "He showed a clear resolve to finish the job and gave a definitive account of the need to do it; Americans can't ask for more forthright leadership."